Why Is It Still Worthwhile to Write a Craft Book?

When I started working in book publishing back in the early 1990s, there weren’t nearly as many craft books published as there are today. I remember looking for them at my local bookstore, Shakespeare & Company, on the Upper West Side in New York City. If my memory serves me correctly, there were just a couple of shelves covering knitting, quilting, sewing, and needlepoint. I would sit down on the floor there and leaf through many of them, deciding which ones I would purchase and which ones I would save up for. I have a distinct recollection of buying Principles of Knitting by June Hemmons Hiatt and admiring books by knitwear designers like Kaffe Fassett , Annabel Fox, Alice Starmore, and Debbie Bliss.

Fast forward a few years and I had written my first book, Knitting in America, which celebrated the American knitting community and, somewhat surprisingly to the publisher, Artisan Books, made a big splash and sold very well. We were, indeed, onto something, and slowly the few shelves devoted to craft books at bookstores began to expand. Super-sized places like Barnes & Noble and Borders and small indies alike started devoting more than a few shelves to crafting. We could sit on the floor and study them or, in many places, we could sit on the chairs and couches they provided for our comfort.

These stores even began to host craft meetups, a movement energized by BUST magazine publisher and editor-in-chief Debbie Stoller, who convinced twenty-somethings that crafting and, in particular, knitting, was cool—she met with her knitting group in a bar. Knitting was deemed “the new yoga,” and when Stoller’s first book, Stitch ‘n’ Bitch, came out in 2004 and made it onto the New York Times bestseller list, the floodgates opened. Nearly every book publisher in town recognized that crafting was a viable category.

Craft Books Take Off

The trend began with knitting and then extended into sewing, quilting, paper flower-making, and more. I remember a New Yorker cartoon by BEK of two angels in handknits. The caption read “It was better before God took up knitting.” Everything was going along pretty well. I wrote a couple more books. Interweave Press, itself a prolific publisher of crafting books, hired me to edit Interweave Knits magazine. Then, in 2003, the art book publisher Abrams hired me to acquire craft books and then gave me my own imprint: STC Craft / Melanie Falick Books. Around the same time Random House started the Potter Craft imprint. The Kindle came out in 2007 and the Ipad hit stores in 2010. There was a lot of conversation about the possibility of print books becoming obsolete, but for the time being, how-to books seemed safe (and, I reasoned, books would need writers and editors regardless).

More disruptive than the presence of ebooks was the increasing amount of free and low-cost content being published on the internet, and the prevalence of behemoth retailer Amazon’s discounted pricing, which was dissuading other outlets that couldn’t afford to discount so deeply, from carrying books. Brick-and mortar stores started to cut down on their book inventory to avoid becoming showrooms for Amazon—customers would see a book they liked in person but then order it from Amazon at a lower price. Discoverability became a key term. Publishers and authors needed to figure out new ways for customers to discover a book and then drive them to a retailer that would sell it to them (Amazon or any other).

The Impact of Digital

Being part of this digital revolution, naturally, scares many professionals in the book publishing community because it requires rethinking how everything is done, from acquisition to editing to marketing to selling. How-to books present their own unique challenges because they generally include instructions in words and photos or illustrations, and these instructions can often be more easily communicated in video. And with the click of a few buttons, any of us can access seemingly limitless video—some of it is free; some of it paid. So, it makes sense to wonder: Why is it still worthwhile to write a craft book?

When Abby Glassenberg, editor of this newsletter, asked me to answer that question here, I had just left my job at Abrams. I left because I wanted time to explore other creative opportunities and because I wanted to gain some perspective on the industry to which I had devoted nearly 25 years, one that was now in such a state of disruption. I didn’t want to abandon it but needed to figure out how to continue to contribute in a forward-thinking way. I told Abby I’d need a couple of months, not only because I had other commitments but also because I didn’t yet have a clear answer to her question. Actually, she had hit a nerve.

Fortunately, time has given me perspective and, hopefully, some wisdom, and I have formulated a simple response. In my opinion, there are two major reasons to write a craft book:

1) you have a new idea or perspective you want to study, express, and share thoughtfully in a permanent, physical format

2) you want to use a book as a marketing tool.

Traditional craft book publishing is a slow process. It takes time to develop a cohesive idea and plan, to design projects, write text, take photos, lay out the pages, print, and distribute. And there are some advantages to slowness. In some ways, in fact, slow publishing is like slow food and slow design. It gives the author/chef/designer and the rest of the team time to identify quality ingredients/materials, to grow or construct them thoughtfully, and to put them out into the world in a beautiful form that pleases multiple senses. And it provides a focus for our attention, which can be a welcome counterpoint to the frenetic online world, a world that can sometimes feels like an abyss. Where slow publishing might fall short is in the area of environmental responsibility, involving choices that may or may not be earthy-friendly, but that is a topic for a different article. If your goal is speed, this may not be the right route for you. But if you like the idea of giving your ideas deep thought and curation and want to share them in a physical format that endures, then I think a book is a worthwhile route.

When I was at Abrams, most of my authors spent about nine to twelve months working on their manuscripts. During that time we communicated regularly, went back and forth with edits, and planned and executed the photography and illustration. The layout and design of the book took an additional three months or so in collaboration with a graphic designer. If that sounds like a wonderful creative immersion, I encourage you to pursue it. If you think your idea would be served just as well or better as a blog post, video, downloadable pdf, or the like, then obviously that is the route you should take. All of our new technology gives us more choices, so choose the one that makes the most sense for you.

In terms of marketing, I often think of a book as a very fancy business card. If it’s well executed, it will get you noticed and open doors for you. It can also act as a portfolio or resume. Anyone who sees the book will likely make assumptions about who you are and how you work based on the quality of the content and design. I have gotten jobs thanks to my books and I know of many other craft-book authors who have also benefited in this way. Kelly Wilkinson got her position as the editorial director of Creativebug after founder Jeanne Lewis happened upon a copy of Kelly’s book Weekend Handmadeand reached out to her. Joelle Hoverson took notice of Kristy McGowan’s design talent when she saw photos from Kristy’s Modern Top-Down Knitting in my office, and recently she hired Kristy to work as a designer for Purl. And Heather Ross caught the attention of her now literary agent—a prestigious one at that—when his girlfriend showed him a copy of her first book, Weekend Sewing.

A Book is a Tool

A well-executed book can also be an effective tool for growing and diversifying a business. Natalie Chanin, founder and creative director of Alabama Chanin, started writing books in order to share the techniques she and her team were using to create the company’s coveted, hand-stitched, organic cotton clothing and to explain their eco-conscious, community-focused business philosophy. Natalie couldn’t lower the price of these couture garments and still pay her artisan stitchers a decent wage or even sustain the business, so she decided to share the knowledge and the patterns so that anyone could make their own clothing in the Alabama Chanin style. Once the first book, Alabama Stitch Book, came out, the company began selling kits, tools, and materials as well as offering workshops, and recently they established The School of Making under which the now important DIY arm of the business falls. Natalie’s fourth book, Alabama Studio Sewing Patterns, was published last Spring.

Finally, the release of a book puts you in the news. Reviewers, podcasters, stores—they all want to know what’s new—and for a short while, you and your book could be the highlight. But, once the newness wears off, it’s up to you to keep your book relevant. This is where some authors become dismayed and lose steam. It takes energy, focus, creativity, and commitment to continue to promote a book indefinitely. In other words, it’s hard work. But if you start with an idea you’re passionate about and make it part of a multifaceted business or personal plan, then the work can pay off. I specify multifaceted because the truth is that few people can support themselves on craft book income alone.

I wrote my first book in 1996 and I’ve authored five in total. I’ve probably edited more than a hundred. And, as it turns out, I’m pretty sure I’d like to write another. I’m still distilling my ideas in order to figure out what I want to write about, but when I do, I know I will feel excited. I often ask potential authors this question: What is the book that is bubbling out of you, the one you feel you can’t not write, the one that you would buy yourself? An honest answer to that question is probably a good path to a book that is worth writing.

Are you considering submitting a book proposal? When you join Craft Industry Alliance you’ll get access to our Big List of Craft Publishers. This valuable up-to-date resource provides you with every craft publisher’s contact information, area of focus, and tips on how to pitch.

Melanie Falick, until recently the publishing director of STC Craft, an imprint of Abrams, is the author of Knitting in America (known as America Knits in paperback), Kids Knitting, Weekend Knitting, and Knit: A Personal Handbook, and the coauthor of Knitting for Baby, with over 400,000 books in print. She has proudly edited books by many wonderful authors, including Natalie Chanin, Kaffe Fassett, Lotta Jansdotter, Denyse Schmidt, Heather Ross, Lena Corwin, Gretchen Hirsch, and Spoonflower.

As someone who is the middle of writing her second book, it was a tough decision to go with a traditional publisher rather than self-publish the book as a whole or simply sell patterns. I choose to go with a publisher for the reasons Melanie so aptly outlines in this article and luckily choosing this path doesn’t mean that the other avenues aren’t open to me as well. Publishers are changing their attitudes toward self-publishing and see authors who do so as an asset not a liability.

I agree with your points about books opening doors. After my first book (about ribbon crafting) came out last fall, I was mostly blogging and selling PDF patterns. I liked working for myself, but as a former journalist I realized I wanted to start transitioning back into contract/freelance writing with the goal of someday working full-time for a publisher. While I’ve not yet found that full-time job, I’ve landed some excellent ongoing contract positions in the sewing/craft publishing field – jobs that are keeping me very busy. I’m so grateful! These doors likely wouldn’t have been opened for me if I hadn’t proven myself with a book. I’m just now realizing how the hard work is starting to pay off. I might want to write another book someday, but for now I’m enjoying editing for other authors and lifting up their work. It’s very rewarding.

Thanks for a great article, Melanie, and to the Craft Alliance for the launch. I’m so glad this exists. I wanted to throw a tip out there, I suppose, for those authors who wish to publish through a publishing house. I lecture and teach widely and sell my books at these appearances. This is how I make money from books: buy inventory, sell at retail, make that margin. Royalties yield very little, but a case of books signed and sold does pretty well.

But note also that when you have a book and work income out of it in this way, you have a beast on your hands. You have to purchase cases. You have to *lift* those cases (you laugh, but this is no small part of the job), you have to ship a portion of books ahead of you or lug them in your suitcase and a) hope they don’t get crunched en route, and b) hope you judged at least 80% correctly the amount you’ve sent/lugged. Too many books and you have to ship them back, cutting into your margin. Too few and damn: you missed out on some cash.

That’s a few cents from a published author who is grateful she did a craft book (quilting) but has learned a lot since then and will go about her second in a more thoughtful manner.

I find it fascinating that there seems to be a resurgence this year towards new authors and paper published books, after the “scare” of the ebook trend. I can quite happily read a fiction book on my phone or iPad, and love Pinterest and blogs, but I definitely still want a concrete copy in my hand by the designers I know and love.

Very timely article as I am neck deep in creating my third book. My motivation is exactly as described so well by Melanie: I want to publish an original approach to a traditional quilt genre that I’ve developed over 20 years and have spent the last 10 months totally immersed in. It has been a true joy for me personally in the sewing room and at the keyboard, and I am eager to turn these concepts loose on the quilt world, in a permanent way.
The money isn’t really there to warrant all this time spent, in financial terms. This is about challenge, passion, contributing to the craft, and personal satisfaction as much as anything else.
But it is true: publishing a book opens many unexpected doors, and some do pay quite well. And you meet the nicest people….

This is a great piece! Thank you. I absolutely loved Melanie’s line about the book being a “fancy business card.” That is exactly right and I have referred to my first book as a badge–it adds cred, brand recognition, and depth to the writer’s brand offerings. I didn’t know that when I started my journey but am glad to know it now. It takes some of the pressure off, in a weird way, to know that and to understand that.

Melanie, thank you for your thorough and thoughtful entry. I agree with your angle wholeheartedly and I am involved on both sides, being part of the C&T Publishing/Stash Book family, an author, pattern maker as well as a seasoned fabric designer who buys books all the time for inspiration/ how to. I want to share the most basic concept of a books: They’re quietly permanent. Right there in our homes and studios. We flip through the pages, mark favorite images or passages and they have a way of getting into our creative souls like images on Pinterest or videos on YouTube don’t. I personally cherish books as they don’t over stimulate, talk at all or ever have to be plugged in. They sit in a gorgeous, solid, stack with their colorful bindings waiting for me to pull them out again. Right now I have 12 beautifully unique books in rotation on my studio table on quilting, fashion, nature and home decor. Each one, a concise style statement from the author that resonates with me, inspires me and connects me to them. Makers have to hold and touch things. Makers have to contemplate design, color and ideas through three dimensional study. Makers pick things up, start projects, put them down and repeat. Makers need their tactile tools. Books are part of that need. Makers therefore will always be book lovers and buyers.

As a graphic designer I continue to find inspiration in the consistent high quality in the books Ms. Falick shepherds through the publishing process. How great to see her article encouraging Craft Alliance members to publish and how true that advice is. This article rates a bookmark.

Melanie, you are a goddess. This article is timely as I was just vehemently both encouraged and discouraged to think about a book pitch. Ah, so many opinions! I loved “if you like the idea of giving your ideas deep thought and curation and want to share them in a physical format that endures, then I think a book is a worthwhile route. ” It’s nice to see the pros and cons laid out, making it easier to consider if it’s worth the time. Thanks for a great article, keep being the magical craft unicorn you are!